Steam or electric railway cross-tie made of concrete.



PATENTBD MAY 23, 1905.

A. w. WOLFE. STEAM OR ELECTRIC RAILWAY (moss TIE MADE OF CONCRETE.

APPLIOATIO'N FILED ROY. 1a, 1903.

. fnrenofs mam Q UNITED STATES Patented. May 23, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUSTUS W. W OLF E, OF GLADSTONE, MICHIGAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent N0. 790,670,-dated May 23, 1905.

Application filed November 16, 1903. Serial No. 181,463.

To all whom it may concern: 4

Be it known that I, AUGUSTUS W. WOLFE, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Gladstone, in the county of Delta and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Steam or Electric Railway Cross-Tie, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the making or construction of a railway cross-tie out of what is commonly known as concrete, made of Portland or other cement, sand, and crushed stone or gravel in such proportions as shall produce the firmness desired by the manufacturer.

The object of my new tie is to meet all the virtues of the wood tie now commonly in use, as well as to greatly improve on it and at the same time avoid its many defects, one that can be conveniently handled, easily laid and ballasted, the rail as firmly spiked to with additional fastenings, holding the rail much more securely and still preserving all the elasticity of the common wood tie;

My tie is practically indestructible, there being no wood or iron about it that is exposed and thus making the cost for tieing a mile of road not to exceed fifty per cent. above the cost of the common wood tie. After my tie is once installed there are no renewals required, and the labor expense of maintaining a mile of road willbe reduced from fifty to seventy-five per cent, annually below the cost of maintaining the wood tie. After my tie is installed the annual saving on the items of renewals and labor maintaining the wooden tie will about equal the extra expense in the first cost of my tie over that of the Wood tie now, commonly used. The wood portion of my tie will in time, of course, decay, but it It can isso incased in the concrete that it is protected from the soil and the elements, so that its life will be many fold that of the wood tie exposed to the soil and elements. The wood portion of my tie cannot wear out, for while the rail is spiked to it it does not rest on it, but on the concrete portion of the tie.

In the drawings, Figure 1, A is aside elevation, showing my railway-tie. The left-hand pillow has the rail attached, and the righthand pillow is a longitudinal cut through the pillow, showing core-timber B and the connectingrod C, that hooks into the bottom of each pillow to prevent spreading of the rails, and also showing the reinforcing-rods to prevent breaking and bursting of the pillows. Fig. 2 is an end view of one of 'the pillows, showing the rail fastened to it. Fig. 3 is a plan or top view of my tie, the left pillow showing the rail spiked and clamped to it, and the right-hand pillow is shown without any core-timber B in it, but with the rail clamped to it with the rail-hooks f in the center of the pillow in the opening left for the core-timber B. In practice on straight lines the core-timber B will be found .to be wholly unnecessary and when not used the rail is fastened, as shown, in this righthand pillow. Fig. A is a view of the rail-hook f, fixed to the rail with the bottom of the rail flush against it, showing the impossibility of the rail tipping without bending the hook,

the rail-hook thus acting as a rail-brace as well as holding the rail in position.

i In making my tie I make each tie of two independent pillows A. Each pillow I make wider in its central part, giving it the shape of a cross, the object being to give more strength to the pillow under the rail, where most needed, each pillow being, in fact, double, having two rests for the railone on each side of the longitudinal hole through the pillow-- and the pillows when in use are held together and spreading is prevented by core-timber B and connecting-rod (L'which lies in a groove in the bottom of the square opening through the pillows under the core-timber B and shown by m in Fig. 2. This connecting-rod C hooks into the bottom of the pillow just over the cross reinforcing-rod e. The core-timber B is fastened to the pillows by spiking it through the pillows in holes is, left while molding the pillow. The size of the tie will be governed by the Wish of the user; but for steam-roads each pillow should be about forty-two inches long by about twenty-four inches wide at the point of contact with the rail, thus giving plenty of size for strength and surface to prevent burying in any kind of soil.

The tie, which is composed of two independent pillows, each pillow being double, is made as follows, viz: The bottom of each pillow is corrugated to help prevent the spreading of the rails. Through the center and about two inches from the top of each pillow I leave an opening five by five inches square, or any size and shape desired, for the purpose of receiving a square timber of the same size, or wornout rails or angle-bars properly drilled to receive bolts 9 may be inserted in the openings in the pillows instead of the core-timber B for the purpose of stiflening and holding the pillows together, the top side and one of the lateral sides of which are convex, as shown by p in Fig. 2. The object of the convex sides is to receive the swell of the timber when exposed to water, and thus prevent the bursting of the pillow. This opening is so placed in the pillows that the top corners are on the same plane as the bottom of the depression across the top of the pillow, into which the rail is placed, the depression being two inches deep, so as to leave about that depth of material over the opening. This depression is cut or mortised across the top of the tie at right angles and should be about twelve inches long. This depression and the top of the opening through, or rather the corners thereof, being on the same plane, it leaves exposed to View the top of core-timber B when inserted, as shown by 00, and to this exposed portion of core-timber B, the rail is spiked. This coretimber B can extend from one pillow to the other or can be the length of the pillows only. When extending from one pillow to the other, it acts as an additional aid to prevent the spreading, of the rails, as well as to stiffen the tie. This core-timber B is spiked into the pillows through holes left on the top and sides of the pillows. hen the core-timber does not extend from one pillow to the other or is discarded altogether, the pillows are held together and spreading prevented by connecting-rod 0.. (Shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 3.) This rod, together with the corrugated bottom 8, makes the tie absolutely safe from spreading. This connecting-rod G, which can be taken out and put in at will, lies in a groove m, Fig. 2, below the bottom of the opening, out of the way of the core-timber to be inserted. Another method of connecting the pillows together when the core-timber is discarded is shown by tin the right-hand pillow of Fig. 3 and is accomplished by welding a loop on the end of the connecting-rod t and through this loop inserting the pinning-bolt g, which also holds the inner rail-hook f, (sec f z! r/, Fig. 3,) or worn-out rails properly drilled to take bolts r can be used. Between the rail and pillow I place a thin board to prevent the two hard substances from coming into contact and to act as a cushion under the rail, and through this board or cushion I spike the rail into coretimber B, Figs. 1 and 3, and to secure additional fastenings on either side of the pillow or tie I attach rail-hook 7 to one side of the rail, and the other end I hook over the end of bolt r, which is sharpened at one end and is driven into the core-timber B, thus being prevented from coming out. (See '2- in all figures.) This device also fastens the timber and pillow together. When the core-timber is not used and there being nothing into which to spike, I place the rail-hooks f inside the pillow or tie in the opening left for the core-timber and attach one end of the hooks on either side of the rail, and through the other end, which is crooked, I push bolt g, Fig. 3, right-hand pillow, this bolt going through the pillow in holes left for that purpose. These rail-hooks are so bent that after hooking over the rail the bottom of the rail is flush against the hook, thus making it impossible for the rail to tip either way without bending the rail-hook in the angle at the edge of the base of the rail. These rail-hooks are attached to the tie several inches below the base of the rail, thus preventing the rails from jumping when trains are passing over them. The rail thus fastened several inches below its base and several inches from its center is securely held from moving in any direction, yet the rail has all the elastic play needed. There is no danger of snapping any of its fastenings. The rail is securely held in a kind of a swing fastening and held more securely than it can possibly be held with spikes alone, as is now the custom with the wood tie. It will be noticed that this simple rail-hook can be used on the common wood ties by boring a hole on the side of the tie and inserting a bolt, and to this bolt attach the end of the hook. By so doing it saves the tie from the damage done to it by the spike, and also avoids making a hole in the top of the tie to receive water, which assists in decay.

In making my tie or the pillows that constitute it to prevent the danger of breaking when molding it I place at the bottom of each pillow, laid lengthwise with it, one or more iron rods with ends bent, as shown by (Z in Fig. 1, these rods being to reinforce the pillow from transverse breakage, and likewise I place at least four rein forcing-rods to prevent the pillow from splitting, these irons entirely compassing the opening through the pillow. (See a in all figures.) \Vith these reinforcingrods it is impossible for this tie to break and do any damage.

The concrete portions of my tie are imperishable, and all the exposed wood and iron portions and fastenings are independent of the tie proper and can be replaced at any time with trifling expense. The core-timber can be removed by pulling the spikes and another one inserted without disturbing the tie or the road-bed or the rail, and when my tie is used rock-ballasting will be found wholly unnecessary.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A railway cross-tie made of any plastic material, preferably concrete, that afterward hardens, consisting of two independent double pillows, having a rest for the rail on each side of the longitudinal opening through the pillows, the longitudinal hole through the pillows adapted to receive a timber connecting said pillows and to which rails may be spiked substantially as shown and described.

2. A railway cross-tie made of concrete, consisting of two independent double pillows, the bottom of which pillow is corrugated, and through it a square hole extends longitudinally, two sides of which hole are slightly convex, the top of each pillow being gained out at right angles to the pillow, and for a distance of several inches each way from the center, and down to a point that is on the same plane as the top corners of the opening through the pillow as shown and described.

3. A railway cross-tie made of concrete, consisting of two independent double pillows, each double pillow being bound together by concrete, reinforced by bands of iron encircling the, opening through the pillows.

L. A railway cross-tie, made of concrete, consisting of two independent double pillows, which are held together by a bar of iron, C, with each end bent at right angles, or more, which bar is placed in a groove made in the bottom of the opening through the pillow,

and the ends of it hooking down through the bottom of either pillow.

5. A railway cross-tie made of concrete consisting of two independent double pillows, being held together by core-timber, B, which is spiked into the pillows so as to receive railspikes and prevent spreading of the rails, and in a manner that the spikes can be pulled and the timber, B, removedat will without injury to the pillows, the parts being combined substantially as shown and described.

6. A railway cross-tie, made of concrete, consisting of two independent double pillows, with a hole extending through each pillow, into which rail hooks can be attached to the base of the rail and the other end of the hook the bottom of the rail, with the other end fastened to the pillow on the opposite side of the rail and several inches from its base, so preventing the rail from tipping without bending the book, as well as holding the rail in position as shown and described.

In testimony whereofI have signed my name i to this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

AUGUSTUS W. WOLFE.

Witnesses:

FREDERICK HUBER, JAMEs MOWILLIAMS. 

